The Vocalist
by Lorion
Summary: Joseph Eve is a young virtuoso. Coming at the age of 17 he has done it all, composing, conducting, performing ... well, everything that is. He encounters an offer from the heiress' father, Weiss, the offer? To teach her daughter music. Can the great virtuoso teach the cold heiress, not just music, but what matters most? (AU)
1. Chapter 1: Hired

**Author's Note: **

**And thus begins my next character interaction focused fanfic. This features Weiss and OC (Joseph) as main characters. Involves names of musical icons, anyway, this serves as an introduction. **

**I hope that you'll enjoy, please follow, leave a a review and all the usual stuff. Thanks, hopefully this fic will go well.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE, CONTAINS AN IFFY SCENE, YOU'LL KNOW WHEN YOU HIT IT.**

**- Lor**

* * *

Chapter 1: Hired

The applause, it was stupendous as I looked at the performers in the orchestra. I'd finished conducting Symphonie Fantasique by Berlioz. The applause was breath taking and Earth shattering. Lowering and setting the conducting wand on my stand I turned around and bowed. The house was jam packed with people on the rafters above and people on the seats below. The building was archaic with Greek styled pillars for support and seats on the top between the pillars similar to that of an opera house.

The audience continued to clap, several people also seemed to be murmuring to each other about something. _Probably my age_, I thought as the rows of people filed out. After they'd filed out I began to clean up with the rest of the orchestra.

I congratulated the group, "Congratulations guys. That was our best performance yet."

Everybody chimed in, "Thank you."

Everybody began to leave and I sighed, _another amazing night and turn out. _I collected my music and began to get off when I turned around to see two people. One of them was around my age, the famous heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee. She had her hair in a side pony tail; her eyes were cold blue and stared straight into mine. She was also wearing a white dress with red trimming to accompany her hair. She seemed to have an arrogant aura around her, her father on the other hand was more reserved and kept calm. He had the same blue eyes as Weiss but they seemed warmer. He was dressed in a dark suit and was rather tall.

"Ah, Hector, it's great to see you," I said, hopping off of the stage, "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I did, I see that you're as young as ever," He replied smiling.

"It comes with being a virtuoso, so, I guess this is your daughter Weiss," I said focusing my attention on the heiress.

"Father, are you sure this is the person that you want?" She arrogantly asked her Father.

"Yes Weiss, he is the person that I want, did you not read his back ground. The boy is a legend, as great as Mozart himself," Hector told her daughter.

I raised my right eye brows, suspicious of what the two were saying. "Father, he is only seventeen! The same age as me!" She said.

"Enough Weiss, the decision is final," Hector told her.

"What decision?" I questioned.

"Joseph, I would like to offer a proposition for you. I would like for you to teach my daughter music at my mansion, she's a vocalist," He said.

"What? Teach music for your daughter?" I questioned.

"Yes," He stated.

"And leave my full time position at the symphony orchestra?" I continued.

"Precisely, you will be accommodated with a room at our mansion," He continued.

"Father you cannot be serious?" Weiss questioned.

"What princess? Don't think that I could handle teaching you?" I taunted.

"Yes! Are you kidding me? You're the same age as me!" Weiss scolded. "To me, you're not even worth talking to."

"Hmm, the princess has quite a tongue doesn't she?" I taunted.

"It is heiress!" She answered almost moving to hit me in the face.

"Weiss, constraint yourself, the boy is only teasing," Hector said grabbing her daughter's hand and pulling her back.

Weiss looked at me with cold rage, her eyes focussed on me. "Hmph," She grunted turning her attention away from me.

"So, how about it Joseph, will you teach her?" Hector asked.

I looked at the arrogant heiress, she was looking away from me and at the stage where all of the janitors were cleaning up and putting away chairs. I studied her for a moment, her expression seemed arrogant but at the same time she seemed to be mesmerized by the atmosphere. She was doing her best to hide it but I sniffed out her passion for it.

"I might, if she can prove to me that she has the skill," I told Hector.

"That is no problem, I'd already hired another teacher to teach her the basics before we came to you," Hector assured.

I wasn't convinced, "No, I want for her to prove to me, right now. Weiss can you sing a scale for me?"

She stared straight in my eyes, "A scale? Is that all you want? I thought that it would be something harder."

"Oh, it is," I said walking closer and inspecting her. "Sing," I instructed.

I saw her took a deep breath and her shoulders raise. She sang the entire C scale and I cringed on the inside. Her tone was not supported at all by the air that was coming out of her mouth. She should be breathing from her diaphragm which was right below her chest. That would produce the air for any tone. I could also see that her posture and head position was not ideal for tone, her head was slightly bent down and as meticulous as it was, it was necessary for a strong tone.

"Wrong," I stated.

"What? I got it right," Weiss said in disbelief.

"You got the notes, but the sound quality was not right," I told her.

Moving to her side I put my left hand right under her chest while I used my right to position her head upright. Her face became slightly flustered as I was right under her chest. Then it turned back into a cold expression, "What are you doing?" She spat out.

"Breathe," I instructed.

"Why are you asking me to-," She began before I cut her off.

"I said, breathe," I sternly told her.

She took a deep breathe, I couldn't feel anything from her the diaphragm. "That is exactly your problem. You need to breath from your diaphragm," I told her as I moved my hands away from her body.

"What?" She questioned

"And you told me that you already hired a teacher to teach her," I lightly scolded Hector.

I faced my head back, "Your diaphragm, it is right under your chest. It produces the best tone for every single instrument involving air, this includes your voice. If you're breathing from your diaphragm you will feel your stomach rise."

I put my hand back on her diaphragm, "Let's try that again, and make sure to keep your head upright, I also caught onto that."

She repositioned her head upright and breathed from her diaphragm. She began the C scale but lost her breath at the fourth note, the sound was like music to my ears. Her voice was beautiful, and her pitch was damn near perfect. She did have potential yes, under my training she would go far. But I still had one thing on my mind, her determination; I caught a glimpse of it but wanted to make sure in person.

She panted as she lost her breath, "How do you call that good air! I ran out at the F!"

"Ah, but your tone was excellent, the vibrant sound was almost near perfect, the air supported your voice and as such produced a beautiful voice," I merely stated.

"So are you taking the job?" Hector asked but I ignored him.

"Weiss; let me ask you something, not as an instructor or a virtuoso, but as a regular person. Why are you pursuing music?" I questioned.

She thought for a moment, when she had worded her answer in her mind she began to speak before being cut off by her father. "Because she wants to," Hector told me. I turned to face the elderly man in his 30s then back to Weiss.

"Is that truly the reason? Because I will not teach a student that is not serious about music, so, do you love music?" I asked her.

She sighed, "Yes, I love music."

"Fine, I'll take the job," I said.

"Oh absolutely splendid, I shall make preparations at once," Hector said waving for her daughter to come to my side.

She curtseyed to me and went back to join her father. I caught a glimpse of a smile from her and it made me smile. _Hmm, you're interesting Weiss._ "Don't let your father blind what you truly are," I whispered to her as she walked by.

She turned around and began to formulate an answer before her father called for her. The two left, her father smiled at her and she returned it, although only faintly.

I'd left the concert house, driving in my car I reached my apartment. Hector told me that he would send servants to collect my things so I should just move things to the front. My apartment room was empty; I lived alone although I was only 17. My parents were never there for most of my life, they were mostly off on their cruises and vacations, ignoring their child and leaving me with my Uncle. I didn't mind, I happened to also discover my talent and passion for music. I was mesmerized by the music that my Uncle used to play for me on his piano. I also discovered I had perfect pitch and found myself playing pieces like Chopin's Nocturnes at the age of five. Around the age of 10 I was beginning to understand how harmony worked, how to build a good accompaniment and progressions. My Uncle recognized my talent then and entered me into a prestigious contest; I guess that was my first step into music internationally. People were stunned by the harmonies and the melodies that I composed myself. One of the judges also recommended me to join the Vale Symphony Orchestra, I was ridiculed at first but when I showed them my technical ability they were stunned. At the age of 15 I was offered the position of concert master, and I guess that takes me to where I am today.

My flat was dirty still, with clothes lain across the floor. I had a black couch against the back wall facing a TV. There was a kitchen in the corner and a dining room close to it. At the right wall there was a shelf with many famous compositions from all the musical eras.

This was the structure of my flat, but hidden away in my room are my other belongings. Walking in I saw my black amp in the left hand corner. There were several cases of instruments, two different kinds of saxophones, an electric guitar, a trumpet, and a keyboard. There was a computer in the right hand corner hooked up to a set of amps and a large speaker. My bed was situated in the left corner, it was near the door with several shelves over it. On the shelves were several disks, the top shelf had Jazz albums, the middle had light rock albums and the last contained pop songs.

I began to unplug things and dismantle wires on my computer when I heard my phone buzz from my pocket. I banged my head on the desk which housed my computer as I attempted to get up. Crawling back out I checked my phone and a girl's name popped up, Yang Xiao Long, "Hey Yang, what's up?"

"What's up? I heard that you were moving, that's what's up!" She answered.

"Yeah, so what about it," I questioned.

"Does that mean that you're leaving us?" Yang asked.

I heard a cry from the room which I associated to her sister, Ruby. "Why?" I heard her say.

"I'm gonna put her on the phone," Yang told me.

"Why are you leaving us? I thought we were going to make it big!" Ruby said through tears.

"Shh, calm down Ruby," I said in a soothing tone. "I'm not leaving you just yet. I just took a new job that is moving me a good two hours away from my current home."

I heard the sobs increase. And sighed, "Ruby, I'm not leaving what I've built with you guys. Just give me time and I'll explain."

"O-Okay," She stuttered, sniffling.

"I took this job because there is someone with so much raw talent that I just have to train her, don't worry, we'll still play together every day, just give me time to adjust. Please," I begged.

"O-Okay, we'll wait," Ruby responded.

"Ruby, can you put it on speaker for me so I can talk to you guys both?" I asked.

"Sure," She said activating the speaker phone.

"Guys, you guys are my most prized pupils and friends. Ruby, Yang, and Blake, you guys are so talented that you'll do fine without me," I told them both.

"Does that mean you're leaving us?" Yang asked.

"As I've told Ruby already, no, let me adjust to the new life and I promise I'll get back to you guys," I assured them.

"Okay, we'll wait," I heard Yang say.

"Also, could you please tell Blake this?" I asked.

"Sure," Yang answered.

"Thanks," I replied hanging up.

I took a deep breath out, and resumed packing. Taking the amp and computer apart took most of the night. I then began to put move my disks and scores into several neat piles. Taking out the instruments in my room I neatly placed them near the front door. I then continued to take apart the speakers for my computer and moved them over to the pile of my belongings. Next came my clothes, I had a plethora of sweaters, t-shirts, and jeans for everyday wear. This was coupled with two sets of suits. I collected my clothes in a suitcase and went to my music tools. These were on top of the drawer, and included three conducting wands, two tuners, two mouth pieces for the saxophones and a box of reeds for them. I collected these into a bag and laid them outside as well.

Lying back in my bed I sighed, thinking about what had happened just now. Weiss was rather unusual; I guessed that it was just her arrogance. _There's something about her and I can't just put my tongue on it._ I decided to put it past me so that I could wake up tomorrow. I had to get up early since Hector and Weiss would be picking me up in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2: Fresh Start

**Author's Note:**

**I don't really have anything to say particularly about what is going to happen and my plans for the future with this story.**

**Anyways, enjoy, leave, follow, review and all the usuals.**

**- Lor**

* * *

Chapter 2: Fresh Start

I woke up to the sound of my bell ringing. I got up and grudgingly made my way over to the door. Looking through the peephole I saw Hector and Weiss waiting for the door to open. Weiss was looking around to distract herself. Hector was dressed in a white pristine suit while Weiss was in another white dress similar to the one she wore yesterday.

I unlocked the door and let the two in, "Morning Joseph, have a good night's rest?" Hector said greeting me.

"What time is it?" I asked rubbing my eyes as I went into my room.

"It's ten, I thought you would know," Weiss stated arrogantly.

"Right princess, or should I call you student?" I teased.

Weiss became in furious at the comment but restrained herself, her face was getting red from anger though, "Hmph!" She said sitting herself on the couch.

I went to my room and began to change,"Do you want coffee?" I hollered from my room, "I've got a coffee maker if you want to use it."

"Sure, thanks!" Hector responded.

I changed into a black hooded sweater along with blue jeans. Walking out Weiss noticed me. She scolded me for my attire, "Really, a sweater and jeans?"

I went to the dining room table and grabbed my phone, "Teaching requires for you to move, besides, it's getting chilly student," I answered with a smirk. I noticed Hector made himself a cup of coffee, "How's it taste Hector?"

"It's simply delightful," Hector answered taking a sip.

"Yeah, it's a good coffee maker," I said.

"Where'd you buy it from? It's so exquisite," Hector told me enjoying every single sip of it.

"Honestly, I don't know, it was my Uncle's before he got a new one," I answered.

Weiss became impatient, "If the two of you would stop talking about nonsense! We can get going."

Hector's face became stern at the comment, "Weiss."

"Nah, she's right, we really should get going. Busy first day after all," I answered.

"Finally!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Let's go then," Hector said heading for the door. "Some of my servants will come and pick up your belongings."

"Alright," I replied nodding and getting a jacket in case it was too cold along with the keys to my car.

We left the building and got into Hector's car. His car was a black sports car, it was nice and polished as if it were cleaned every single day. _Yang would be so jealous,_ I thought as I took the passenger's seat. She was looking off into the distance, distancing herself from the world. I decided to bring up a conversation, "So, Weiss."

"Yes?" She answered, staring straight at me.

"Want to play a game?" I asked.

"Really? A game? Are you that childish?" Weiss scolded.

"Fine, I was just going to ask you some questions about music theory, jeez," I responded.

She paused before sighing, "Sorry, go right ahead."

"Good, what does Allegro mean?" I asked.

"When a piece is marked allegro it means to play in a fast and lively tempo," Weiss answered.

Hector smiled as he began to drive, he seemed to appreciate how I was getting along with Weiss.

I smiled, "Good, now how about cantabile?"

"In a singing style," She answered.

"Correct again, crescendo?"

"Really? To get steadily stronger," Weiss said arrogantly.

"What is the best way to resolve a dominant chord?" I asked.

"You would resolve it with a tonic chord," Weiss replied.

"Good, some basic harmony as well, mind you that was really basic," I stated.

Weiss continued to look off into the distance, I looked at her in the back seat and she noticed me. She stared daggers at me and I went back to looking at the road. She began to say something to herself, she was probably muttering about my behaviour.

We continued to drive. The roads were quiet as it was a Sunday morning. As I was staring out at the buildings that passed my mind began to phase out, it jolted back when I received a text from my phone. It was from the director of the Vale Symphony Orchestra.

_Is it true? Are you leaving to teach a rich girl?_ The message read.

_Yeah, I am, she has potential and tons of it,_ I answered.

_Fine then, will you still be coming in for part time conducting? I need to know so that I can find a new conductor_.

_I don't know, probably, depends on the girl's schedule. And her name is Weiss Schnee by the way_. I replied.

_Find out soon, I wouldn't want to lose an esteemed musician such as yourself_.

_Will do_, I replied ending the conversation.

I was about to put my phone back into my pocket when I received another text. This time from Blake, _Good morning_, she greeted.

_Good Morning Blake_, I answered.

_Is it true? I heard from Yang that you were leaving, is our group finished?_ She asked, I could sense concern in the message.

_Well, I am moving, that's for sure. _At this I could see that she was beginning to type up a message.

_Will that be the end of the group? I have no idea; it really depends on my schedule. _I continued.

_But I'm thinking that it'll be very late practices, if anything._ I tried to assure her, hopefully making the situation better.

It took a few minutes for her to come up form an answer. _Fine, I trust you. Just, don't leave us, okay?_

_I'd never leave you guys_, I answered with a smiley face.

_Good to hear_, Blake answered, ending the conversation.

I put my phone back into my pocket and leaned back on the car seat. I heard Weiss saying a poem, or some kind of literature. I looked back and she was staring up into the sky.

"Magic Mirror on the wall, show me who I am. How does one mend their own life …" She began to say before she noticed me looking.

She immediately stopped and turned away. _Oh brother_, I thought as I fixated myself onto the road. We began to fall asleep, only to come back an hour later when I heard a small creaking sound. Opening my eyes I saw that we were at the gate and that a person attending the gate had opened it up.

The mansion was pristine and beautiful; the grass was a fresh vibrant green colour that surrounded the circular driveway. The mansion was large and rectangular, almost like a castle on top of a hill, with several towers along the grounds. It looked very vast and large as the white marble extended outwards. It was larger than the size of the football field and had a dome roof. There were also pillars along the front.

"You live here?" I questioned out of amazement.

"Yes," Weiss answered.

"Must be nice," I replied.

"Not really," She said softly.

"What was that Weiss?" I asked.

"Nothing," She said sighing and looking at her home.

Hector parked in front of his door, several servants were already waiting for us. They opened up the car doors and escorted us out. I didn't really need to be escorted out but I thanked them. They bowed as they led the way inside.

The mansion was huge with a large front entrance. There was a set of stairs leading upwards; to a large door which I assumed to be the master bedroom. There were hallways along the left and right leading to several other rooms, which I assumed to be just as large. There were several paintings on the walls with sculptures on podiums as well. There were two sets of hallways, one near the stairs and one closer to the door. I assumed in one of these rooms I would be teaching.

I wasn't greedy but I couldn't help admiring the size and expansiveness of the mansion. Weiss simply drew a deep breath and went upstairs into her room on the left. Hector welcomed me to his mansion, "Well Joseph, welcome to your new home. Your belongings and your car will come later today. The parking lot is underground and the elevator is right next to the main stairs. Make yourself comfortable," He said heading up the stairs.

"Thanks," I said beginning to go after Weiss to begin the lessons but a servant stopped me.

"Come, let me show you your room," he said leading me upstairs and to the right.

There were several rooms evenly spaced out but at the end there was one room that was much larger than the rest. The spacing between the second last and last door was about the size of one and a half high school classrooms. The servant lead me into the room and opened it for me, I saw my bedroom, there was a large dark red dresser in the right hand corner near the door, two sets of massive windows and a four poster bed along the wall. There were also large shelves on the wall and two other rooms. A large work desk was situated near the bed. Overall, the room was quite empty and it needed to be filled up. It was quite different than my flat in downtown Vale which was small and cozy. This seemed to be too huge to be true.

"There is also a washroom and the study room," he said pointing towards the two doors. "If you need anything then let me or any of the other staff know. I hope you enjoy your stay," He continued bowing at me before turning to leave.

"Thanks," I said before I was began heading into the study room. "Actually," I began to say to the servant.

"Yes sir?" he answered.

"Could you bring me some breakfast, maybe a BLT sandwich? I haven't eaten yet," I requested.

"Of course sir," He said bowing before heading off.

I decided to check the room out, the washroom was amazing and brilliant, there was a walk in shower, and a full length bathtub. There was also a medicine cabinet above the sink which held several hygienic tools. The study room on the other hand was large and expansive with a two tables situated in front of the black board. One was closer to the board which I assumed was the teacher's table. The second was farther and meant for the student, in this case Weiss. There were several books piled on the desk, I went over and noticed that it was all theory books. They were supposed to be teaching tools, I didn't really need them but it would be nice to use them as work books for Weiss.

There were also shelves of books along the walls stretching towards the ceiling. There was a ladder along the wall which I assumed was for the shelves. They seemed to be mostly books about philosophy and a few fictional books. This also connected to room was also connected to the hallway directly and had a few statues for decoration. The floor was made out of granite and had a border like pattern surrounding a large carpet in the center.

There was also a piano near the black board which would be handy for practicing tone and pitch. It seemed that everything was ready for me to teach so I decided to go over to Weiss' room to begin the first day of class.

The halls were mostly empty as I walked through; it was rather quiet, creating a lonely atmosphere. I began to walk the halls when I realized that I didn't know where Weiss' room was. I registered that all the doors looked identical, so there was not going to be an easy way. I just began to knock politely; the rooms were mostly empty as there was no response from any of the rooms I knocked on.

Arriving at one of the doors in the middle I began to knock, when I was in the process of knocking on the first time my hand slipped as the door opened. My eyes met Weiss' cold blue eyes; she was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Well?" Weiss said.

"How'd you know I was going to knock?" I asked.

"Oh please, you were stumbling around and knocking on every single door looking for me," Weiss replied with an arrogant tone while rolling her eyes.

I was a bit embarrassed, "Well then, time for class."

"Fine," She answered grudgingly coming along with me to my study room.

Opening up the door before my bedroom on the end I let her in. She took a seat and I tossed her the advanced rudiments book on my desk.

I went over to the teacher's desk and sat down. Looking over at Weiss she was waiting for instruction rather impatiently. "Flip to the last review test," I instructed. She did so and waited for further instruction, "Now complete it."

"What?" She asked, puzzled.

"I said complete it," I replied sternly.

"You seriously expect me to complete that? You've haven't even taught me yet," Weiss said with a hint of malice.

"Yes, I do. Now complete them," I stood my ground. I wanted to test her theory skills and I believed that doing the last review of the Advanced Rudiments book would test her. And if I did let her know it would ruin the drive or reason for completing it if I told her it was a diagnostic.

I looked at her as I sat in my chair and her eyes met mine. I tried to put my best stern expression, she sighed angrily and began to work on it. "Fine," She grumbled taking out a pencil and beginning to write.

I decided to take this time to look through the various books piled on my desk to understand what their teaching curriculum was, and also to pass the time. I wanted to make a note of where the work sheets are so I began to search for paper in the desk. Finding a pad of legal paper and a pen in the top drawer I began to jot down where the work sheets were in the various text books. This was a laborious task as there was a huge pile on my desk which I needed to root through.

After about an hour Weiss returned with the book in hand. I saw that it was completed to some extent, "Good, that's enough theory for today."

"What? Is that it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that will be all, now, time to make some music," I said making my way over to the piano. Weiss grudgingly followed me again as I situated myself on the piano bench. "Tell me Weiss, have you ever touched a piano?"

"Rarely," She answered.

"Well that's a shame, the piano is a mandatory tool for any vocalist," I answered. I took a paused and began to warm up my hands on the piano. "Oh well, that'll come another day," I continued. "Have you thought about your breathing techniques?"

"Of course!" She answered immediately.

"That's good," I played middle C on the piano and could hear that the tuning was perfect. Someone must've come and tuned it specifically for me. "Please sing middle C then."

She sang the note and I could hear her beautiful voice, but, something seemed to be obstructing it. I got up and she began to stop, "Continue," I instructed. Going around I began to inspect her body, her body was perfectly straight which allowed for the air to come out easily. Her head was level allowing for excellent air flow. I then put my right hand right below her chest, her cheeks reddened but I paid no attention to it. Instead I was focused on the lack of decline on her diaphragm.

"Weiss, tell me where you should be breathing from," I asked with a hint of malice.

"Your diaphragm," She muttered in defeat.

"What was that?" I asked cupping my ear in a gesture of control. "I didn't hear you."

"Your diaphragm sir," She answered plainly.

"Then why are you not breathing from it?" I asked with a malicious tone. She stayed silent as she looked at the ground. "Exactly, now correct yourself."

The rest of the day was spent improving her tone and intonation. She did not disagree with me as she realized that she was wrong. She steadily improved her tone, I dismissed her while instructing for her to practice breathing from her diaphragm, and that I would check again the next day. In a way, her obedience reminded me of the three girls, Ruby, Yang, and Blake. They all trusted me and agreed to every single suggestion I gave them to improve their performances.

One of the servants gave me the schedule for the weekdays. I was to teach her in the evenings from five to eight. I thought about Ruby, Yang and Blake, if they can work with practicing until midnight then this would all work out. No, it would work out; the girls wouldn't give up that easily. They were all excellent players after all and I could see their talent maturing every time I saw they practice.

I smiled before leaving the classroom and retiring to my bedroom. _Things are going to be alright_.


	3. Chapter 3: Lessons

**Author's Note****:**

**Hello dear readers, I'm back with Chapter 3.**

**I won't try to spoil too much for this chapter but I can tell you that a new character will show up. If you can spot her that's cool, kudos goes to you.**

**So with the future of this I'm sure that you can tell where this is going, if you can't well, here goes, somewhere down the pipeline Joseph is going to form "The Band" I'm sure that you can already tell who going to be in it, cough, Ruby, Blake, Yang, cough. But there are more additions to come, if you don't already know who that is. Now, I haven't told you what instruments that they'll be playing, that's all your speculation, but I'm sure you could make good guesses. *Hint* Think a small Jazz group.  
**

**Anyways, enough of this, I'm sure you're all anxious to get to the content.**

**As usual, follow (if you haven't), and leave a review, it goes a long way and gives me ideas to flow in my brain.**

**- Lor**

* * *

Chapter 3: Lessons

I was awoken by a knock on the bedroom door that connected to the classroom, my brain registered it as being very early and that I needed to go back to sleep. I couldn't sleep a wink last night; after all, being thrown out of my usual comfort zone did not do good for the schedule I was put on. Hopefully, I could get past the morning class that I was supposed to teach. The sky was in the stage of transitioning to early morning; it looked like the dark sky was a light shade of black.

I groggily went over to the door that was being knocked on. I knew that it was the classroom door but it never reached the logistics in my brain. I just went and answered it as if it were the actual bedroom door. I opened the door and saw Weiss' face looking angrily at me. She was dressed in a white dress with red trimming along the bottom.

"Well?" She asked, angry.

I yawned, "Weiss? What are you doing," I said taking a pause to yawn. "Isn't it a bit early?"

She shoved a tablet in my face. "It's 5: 30." I just continued to yawn before she snapped. "Well, get going!"

"Yeah, Yeah," I said closing the door and getting changed.

I got changed into a sweater and jeans. I headed for my classroom and grudgingly took a seat. Last night I was up working on marking Weiss' theory paper. And then afterwards I called the Orchestra to tell them that I would be resigning from my position. The director bid me farewell in a sombre tone, he obviously was disappointed that he would lose the most gifted child to this date.

I then proceeded to call Yang up.

* * *

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Yang, how do you feel about practice at night?" I asked.

"I don't know, can't you do it any other time?" She asked.

"It's really impossible, you guys do have school during the day which is my only other time off," I stated.

I heard the phone scramble out of her hands and I heard Ruby's voice. "Are we going to still be a team?" She asked.

"I don't know, how do you feel about night time practice? I can get there at about nine then we can practice until 12," I stated.

"Really? That's great! We'll do it!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

I heard Yang and Ruby bicker off to the side, I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but they were probably bickering about the time placements. I heard the phone switch hands again, "Alright, we'll do it," Yang told me.

"That's great, I'll see you guys at nine tonight," I said.

"Yay!" I heard Ruby exclaim loudly.

At this I smiled, it's great to work with people that appreciate all kinds of music, not just contemporary orchestral style. It also gave me a break and people my age to talk to, people that made me feel like a kid and not some adult. And I guess people that could relate to my troubles.

* * *

I was yawning as I got up from the desk; Weiss was impatiently sitting at her desk. I handed her the theory book back. She took it and seemed to be concerned about it, "What's wrong, it's a good mark," I said.

"It's, it's impossible," She began.

"What do you mean, you did exceptionally well," I questioned.

"It, it should've been perfect … It should've been perfect!" She exclaimed.

"Not everything is perfect," I stated.

"No, everything has to be perfect!" She exclaimed yet again.

I was appalled at her emotion and the malice in her tone. "Weiss, listen, not everything is perfect. Nobody is, we all make mistakes, even I do."

"But, I can't make mistakes," She stated looking straight into my eyes.

"Oh, I see, you're one of those people," I replied, nodding. "So Weiss, can you tell me what makes us so special?"

"I-I don't know," She answered.

"It's that we're imperfect," I stated.

"But, isn't that bad? Aren't we supposed to be perfect?" She asked, confused.

"Nope, you see, it's the imperfections that made us human," I told her. "It's the imperfections that allow us to learn and grow as an individual." She still wasn't sure, "You know, I met this girl once. I met her at a music contest, I wasn't participating of course, I would ruin the competition and the spirit."

* * *

It was deep into the winter season, I was attending a contest that a conductor friend of mine was suggesting. I was wearing a black sweater since it was quite cold that day. I sat in the front seats so the stage lights shined brightly in my face. There a piano off on the left side. A row of three judges sat across from it on the opposite end of the stage. At the piano there was a girl with brown hair, she was wearing a white dress shirt and dark pants. I found this an interesting choice; I leaned in closer in reciprocation.

The girl had brown hair and her brown eyes tensed as she looked at her music in front of her. There was a father next to me that looked at their daughter on stage intently. The father's eyes were squinted, focussing heavily on his daughter's performance, quite possibly too heavily. He seemed to give off a very tense vibe; and not a very good one at that, it seemed, very, malicious. I didn't like where it was going but I merely continued to watch and wait.

The judges nodded to her and she began to play Chopin's Nocturne no. 1, to my surprise. Not many people that age could handle the intense emotion and passion the piece required. I waited to see if it was going to be a great performance or not. She was the last performance and I expected a good show, firstly because the others did exceptionally well for their age, and secondly because she chose this kind of piece.

And I wasn't disappointed, she handled the piece well and showed contrasting emotion, bringng the piece to life. It was even complete with Tempo Rubato, one of Chopin's noticeable features.

At the end of it she was smiling, proud that she had finished the piece. She looked around and found her father; he continued to look at her seriously. She then gulped and straightened herself to a more serious position. Getting up and going straight to the stage, the other contestants gathered in front of the stage. One of judges came forward and was handed a microphone from someone below the stage.

"Now, all of the contestants performed wonderfully today, but, we can only have the top three. If it were my choice I would've named you all winners, but it is the board. So, our decision was mixed between several performances. Matthew Jameson, Alicia Leng, and Nathaniel Geom, please step forward." At this the faces of the other contestants lost colour, I saw the last girl's face lose the most. This caught my attention the most, I then felt the chair tremble and I looked to my right. The father was gripping his chair tightly before leaving with a low grunt. The girl gulped while trying to keep a still face and body expression.

Needless to say, the other three received their prizes, from first place to third place. I didn't really pay attention to it as my attention was focussed on the girl that was having a hard time to even stand. She stood out from the crowd as I sensed a panicking atmosphere around her.

The event ended and we were all excused to go home, I stayed in my seat to avoid the rush to the door. The girl was still on the stage, her father having left her to wait outside. I was the last to leave, as I exited the door of the building I saw the same father and girl in an alley way. She was dressed in a white jacket which seemed to be tattered and torn. She was on the ground, her father looming over her in a dominating gesture. The father bent down and proceeded to beat her face, "Useless! Useless freak! You can never do anything right!" He yelled.

"Please, father," She whimpered while on the ground.

She tried to cover her face up but he merely continued to beat through it, beginning to bruise her hands. I decided to step in, as firstly it wasn't the girls fault, and secondly, breaking a pianist's hands is as much of a sin in my book as murdering someone.

"Hey! What are you doing!" I hollered walking in.

"What do you want! Can't you see I'm doing something important?" He said angrily.

"I can see that you're beating your daughter, don't you know that that's illegal?" I questioned.

"So what?" He said looking at me.

His face was grizzly and I could see him clenching his teeth. "So, I'm asking you to stop," I said.

"And if I don't, what are you going to do? You're only a kid," He taunted.

"Then I'll make you stop," I answered.

"Oh yeah! You going to keep acting smug when I beat your's in too?" He asked, running to punch me in the face.

I dodged to the left and his fist went past my face, I felt the wind push up against it. He turned and found that I'd dodged it. I positioned myself in front of the wall, he launched his fist again at me, this time it hit the wall, he wailed in pain. I kicked him against the wall with my boot, his head hit it and it became unconscious.

I sighed, taking a breather from the tense situation, in truth; I've never fought once before. All I did was dodge and do a lame kick, I was no better than the average person; I just managed to be lucky.

I walked over to where the girl was crying, I kneeled down and helped her up to face me. I smiled at her to show her that I was her friend, "You okay?" I asked.

She merely continued to cry. I saw that one eye was brown while the other was pink. A single contact was on the ground, revealing to me how she truly looked. I saw that a tuft of her brown hair was falling out, slipping off of her head, this revealed a bit of pink and white hair. It began to slip before she noticed it fall to the ground. She immediately scrambled to pick up her hair and her contacts. "It's okay, I already know," I told her with a smile. At this she gulped, even more tense, "What's wrong?" I asked.

She then tried to hide her hair with her jacket and her face with her hands. "I-I'm a freak," She stated through sobs.

"No," I simply answered. She heard what I said and slowly removed her hands from her face. "You're not, now, let's see your face," I continued flipping her hood over and putting my hands on the side of her face, positioning it straight so that I could see for sure the damage that was done.

The eye that was pink had a blue bruise forming over it and I could see that her face was full of dirt and grime from being punched on the floor. "I-I know, I'm a freak," She said.

She seemed used to being called that, as the word came out of her mouth with no emotion or meaning behind it. "No, you're not, you're just a girl," I told her. "The damage shouldn't be much, but, we should still get an ice pack for that. Come on," I said picking her up. "How are your hands?"

She held them up, they seemed to twitch. They were bruised over by the beating, but thankfully not broken. "Y-You aren't going to run?" She asked.

"No, why would I run?"

"Because I look like a freak," She simply answered.

"You're wrong," I simply stated.

"W-What?" She asked.

"You're not a freak, you're beautiful," I told her.

At this she seemed to become uncomfortable, she then seemed to question me like I was deranged. "N-No, that can't be."

"I'm not lying to you," I told her. We arrived at the door and she flipped her jacket's hood over her head. I went over to a janitor that was in the room, he immediately noticed who I was and piped up. "Oh, Joseph, how can I help you?"

"I need an ice pack for her," I told him.

He looked at the girl with the hood up, "Right away sir," He said, returning a few minutes later with two ice packs.

I went over to where she was, she tried to grab the packs from me but I held them away from her. "Hold out your hands," I instructed.

I leaned down and placed the ice pack gently over the bruises on her hands, then I held one lightly on her face. "Aie," She seethed.

"You okay?" I asked, pulling back the ice pack.

She simply nodded and let me put the ice pack back on the bruise spot. After a while the bruise seemed to calm down. She took the ice packs from me and placed them on herself. I sat next to her, making sure that she would be okay when she stood up. It was a minute of silence before she spoke up, "Am I, a freak?" She asked.

"No, why would you say that?" I questioned, this caused another moment of silence before I spoke. "If it's about how you look you should never think about that."

"Then it's true, I'm a freak and a failure," She continued, beginning to sob.

"You're neither of those," I told her. Her head stooped lower, I put my hands on her cheeks, moving them to face me. "People who think that you're a freak don't know the real you. And if they accuse you of being a failure than you can tell them to back off."

She began to sniffle a bit, but at least she wasn't crying anymore. "How could I say that, I'm a failure. You saw what happened, I lost,"

"No, you're not the only one, that's one of the beauties of being a person. You're never perfect," I stated.

"Then I'm the degenerate of people," She said.

"No, you want to know why I'm so special, why I'm so skilled? It's not because I'm gifted, no, it's far from that, it's because every waking moment I spent it improving myself," I told her. "You see, not everyone is born knowing everything. We live, make mistakes, and learn. And you can do that too."

"Really?" She asked.

"Really," I said. "And, about your looks, I think it's the imperfection that makes the person. I think that your's makes yourself shine as the brightest in the room."

At this she began to giggle, it was soft and light. "That was really corny," She told me.

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, yeah, it was now that I think about it."

"He he," She giggled.

We began to laugh for quite a while, "Feeling better?" I asked.

"Yeah," She answered.

"So, what's your name?" I asked.

"Neo," She answered.

"Neo, that's a great name. Come on, I'll walk you home," I told her.

"I-I don't want to go home," She said.

"Of course you do, it's your home right?" I asked before realizing what I said. "Right, darn, I forgot about your dad." I thought for a moment, I couldn't leave her here, or let her run off on her own. And I would not take her back to that abusive father, "Tell you what, I might regret saying this, but, you could stay at my place if you wanted."

"Could I?" She asked.

"Sure, but, you've got to promise me one thing," I told her.

"What?" She asked.

"Never stop getting better," I told her.

"Okay, its promise," She said with a smile.

I smiled in reciprocation, "Come on, let's go then."

We walked through the wintery streets, the night lamps illuminating a white path. She was right beside me and was rather close. I know what the people were probably thinking, two couples in love walking through the streets. I simply walked by as people saw me with surprise. I could predict the headlines right now, _Joseph in a Relationship?_

Merely put, I let her spend the night at my place while I called the cops on her father. Needless to say he was taken away and she was either given the option of child care, basically an orphanage, or living on her own. She didn't take kindly to either, but, she decided on living alone. I offered her to stay with me but she denied my request, telling me that it would've been a burden on me if I took care of her. Well, I did help her, I had to. She had to attend school and needed to be able to support herself and a room, so I gave her a bit of money every month. To this she promised to pay me back one day. I told her that I didn't need any money back and that I was just happy to help a friend. She still ended up saying that she'd pay me back, I ended up agreeing to it, although grudgingly.

* * *

"To this day we still keep in touch almost daily, but, you know, she's much happier now," I told her. "She overcame how she looked and her performance at the concert, improving herself in the process. And you can do that too," I finished.

Weiss was looking at me with intent and focus, the story having touched her, she took a deep breath, "Alright, I'm ready," She told me sternly.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, I won't let you down," She told me.

"Good, now on to class, I'll be beginning your theory lessons with harmony since you already know everything from the theory books," I said.

* * *

I was about halfway through a song with Weiss, she was doing splendid from the last time I was with her, her tone had improved. I checked her diaphragm which still caused her to redden. I didn't pay attention to it, because I was more focussed on her diaphragm.

"Good, you're breathing properly," I told her.

She bowed, "It's thanks to you for enlightening me."

"No problem, it's my job," I told her returning to the piano.

I heard a knock at the door, I noticed Weiss tense up where she was standing. "Who is it?" I called.

"Sir, very sorry to bother you at the end of the lesson but Master Wade is here for Weiss," The servant stated.

I felt Weiss tense up, and I knew immediately what was up. _Oh great_, I thought.

* * *

**Post Story Author's Note:**

**Look, I've got Neo! She's the best girl next to Rubes (Ruby) in my opinion. I have a weird thing for pink hair, don't question me.**

**And before you ask, no, I don't have any plays to ship her with Joseph. Even though the impression was was that they like each other I don't have any plans. (The subject is on the table though).**

**Now why did I chose for her to play the piano? A: Because I can, and B: It would feel appropriate for her since she seems to be the classy type of girl in her first appearance in vol 2.**

**Also, with Neo, since this is an AU this is a probably totally different Neo that we would see. Or if you'd like to think of it as a take on Neo before the classy Neo that's up to you.**

**Anyways, peace out, and enough of me talking.**

**- Lor**


	4. Chapter 4: Determined or Undetermined?

**Author's Note:**

**Hello and welcome again, this chapter is supposed to touch up on the idea of our future.**

**Not really much going on here but Weiss and Joseph share a moment together. What you make of it is up to you.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and do please a review.**

**- Lor**

**P.S. Forgot to include this earlier, but, school's starting up which means less time to write so expect delays. That is all.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Determined or Undetermined?

The knock at the door was from one of the servants here; that was for sure. And I'd already guessed what this person called Wade was here for. Since Weiss was an important heiress to the Schnee Company it was important for the company to succeed after Hector's death and continue the line of the Schnee family. Thus, suitors, it was a terrible task, no doubt about that. Making his daughter choose a partner is basically a forced marriage of sorts.

Either way, I needed to open the door. So I got up and went over to it, Weiss followed me to the door. I looked at her before opening up the door, she seemed to have some kind of plan of some sort; she had this determined look on her face.

I went over to the door and looked back at her again; she seemed to be anticipating what was going to happen. I opened the door and found the servant with a guy around Weiss' age. He was fair toned and had blonde hair; this was accompanied by light green eyes. He was dressed in a complete suit with the tie and everything. He was your typical rich male; I assumed that he one of Weiss' suitors.

"Hello, let me introduce you to Master Wade," The servant introduced. "He's one of,"

"My suitors, I get it," Weiss stated.

"Ah, Weiss, you're just as beautiful as the pictures," Wade greeted.

_Ugh, get better lines_, I thought. "Oh sorry Wade, but I already have a boyfriend."

"You do?" We both questioned.

"Yes," She replied, clinging to my left arm.

The guy looked at me maliciously, as if I was competition. I looked back at Weiss and she seemed to be giving me some kind of signal, _just go with it_, she seemed to be thinking, "Him? You think that he's better than me?" Wade questioned.

"Yes," Weiss stated.

"Er, hi," I said.

The guy studied her for a bit, trying to see if she was serious. When he found her cold stone expression he sighed, "You must be a very sad person to think that he's better than me, hmph, a mere musician," He spat back. "You're not even worth my time then, and you can tell your father than the deal is off."

He stomped off down the stairs, the servant following him, "Wait, Master Wade!"

The servant glanced one more time at Weiss, the glance was also malicious similar to the suitor's glance. He then left to pursue after the suitor and probably tell Hector about Weiss' denial.

I found that Weiss was still clinging to my arm, "Weiss, you can let go now," I told her.

"Oh, sorry," She replied before hastily letting go.

"Want to tell me why you used me as cover?" I questioned.

Weiss locked at her tablet and found that she was running late to get to school, "Sorry, but I've got to get to school right now, I'm late, I'll explain everything later!"

I sighed, "Alright," I said with a nod. "See you later."

With that Weiss left hurriedly down the stairs to go to her private school.

* * *

Nothing really happened as the day passed by, I attempted to take a nap in preparation for the trip into town right after Weiss' lesson with me but I couldn't. It was mostly due to it being day and the fact that I was just asleep. I decided to go and take a walk, taking my phone with me I headed out for a walk along the grounds. There was a forest behind the mansion so I decided to head there, there was a clear trail indicating that it was eroded after many years of usage.

Taking a walk I observed the scenery around me, the fall weather was beginning to set in, the tree's leaves were a light shade of orange and yellow. I observed the pristine scenery before returning back to the mansion. When I did someone was already waiting for me, it was Hector. He told me to come in to the living room and I did so following him.

I guessed what this was about, probably about Weiss' suitor.

I headed into the living room, there were four large chairs. They were green and looked rather expensive; along the wall was a fireplace along with several books on two shelves lining the wall on both sides of the fire place. In the center was what looked like Hector's father.

He beckoned me to sit with him, he poured out a cup of tea for me before pouring his. "So, how was the lesson?" He greeted.

"It was good, thanks for asking," I replied.

"Weather's nice isn't it," Hector said.

"Yes, but, it's gonna get chilly soon then snow's going to set in," I replied.

We sat for a moment, taking a sip from the cups of tea in our hands. The tea was nice and unsweetened, the way I liked it, thus ensuring the true flavour of tea comes out. I was sipping from the cup again when Hector spoke up, "So, I'm assuming you know why I called for you," He said.

"It's about Weiss' suitor, isn't it, a Master Wade. If I recall," I told him.

"I was told that you intervened," Hector continued.

"Listen, if it's about Weiss' future can it," I spat at him.

"Hmph, you might be a boy around Weiss' age but you are not to engage in a relationship with her, leave that to me," Hector said.

"Really, cause as far as I'm concerned the welfare of my student is also on my list of priorities," I retorted.

"Just stay out of it," Hector said.

"Weiss, is a person too, you can't decide her future for her," I told him. "You should let her choose who she wants."

"That is not up for discussion," He said.

"Why are you being stubborn Hector?" I asked.

"It's not about what she wants, it's about continuing the line," He firmly stated.

"Still, doesn't Weiss' happiness come first?" I asked.

He fumbled on his answer a tad bit, "No, absolutely not. I will not let my daughter see whoever she chooses. She will wed the best suitor!"

"You're being stubborn and paranoid Hector," I stated.

"No! I am not!" He protested slamming the tea cup onto the table.

"Calm down, I just want you to consider what Weiss is. She's not just some toy that you can send off to someone you like," I stated before getting up. "Thank you for the tea."

I left the area, I heard Hector shout behind at me, "Stay out of it! It has nothing to do with you!"

I decided to go out of the mansion and hang around the city, maybe I should check up on Neo at the same time. It was nearing lunch time for the students after all. I decided to head out for a walk again, I couldn't believe the nerve of Hector. Sure he was reasonable most of the time but this time he seemed to be completely unreasonable. _I mean, forcing a relationship onto one's daughter! Regardless of her social standing or for the sake of the company doesn't your daughter's happiness come first_?

I sighed, eventually along the road I was met with a bus stop onto public road space. The bus stop had a booth along with a bench inside of it. I decided to sit down; I needed to cool my head a bit. Even though I was completely controlled during the conversation, just the fact that Hector would send suitor's at Weiss made me irritated.

I sighed as I waited for a bus to pass by; we were pretty far from the city so it would take some time for the bus to arrive. I decided to check up on Neo, she was the last person that I haven't checked up on. She was probably in school eating lunch so I decided to send a text to her.

_Hey Neo, how's it going_?

_Hi Joey, I'm doing good. How are you? I heard that you moved in with the Schnee's and that you're teaching their daughter, Weiss was it_?

_Yeah, make any new friends yet? _She took a while so I assumed that the answer was no. I sighed, _I guess not._

_ No_, she simply answered.

_It's okay,_ I began to think about tonight, maybe Neo would like to join us. _Say, I'm meeting some friends; we're getting a band together. Do you want to come_?

She took a while before replying, _Uh, sorry, I think I have something to do_. I could feel her hesitant mood to my statement.

_Come on, please? We could use a pianist like you_, I was thinking about the current situation of our band. We currently have Ruby on the piano but she isn't doing too well on it, she tries really hard but, it just isn't enough. _Please? I'm begging you, and, did I forget to mention they're about our age? You could make some friends too_.

She took a while yet again before responding, _Alright, when are we practicing?_

_ From nine until midnight_, I replied.

There was another pause until she replied, _Could you come and pick me up_?

_Sure, be ready at 8: 30_, I replied.

_Thanks for inviting me, _, Neo answered with a smiley.

_No problem, see you at 8: 30_.

I sighed joyfully, I felt my stomach rumble, _hmm, I should get something to eat, maybe a pizza_. I thought as the bus arrived, taking me into Vale. I stopped at a Pizza place and got myself a large pizza, I asked for a bag and they gladly gave me it. I began to chew on it until I realized that I couldn't finish it, _damn, ordered way too damn much_. The place was mostly empty; the ovens were blazing which warmed me up. The room had an overall orange and bright feeling to it. I left the place with the pizza in a smaller cardboard box.

I decided to pick up some sweets, this included cinnamon buns and chocolate. I absolutely adored chocolate; it was so sweet and delectable. I picked up a few boxes of expensive foreign chocolate and left the store. At the same time the clouds began to darken, indicating that it was beginning to rain.

With the packages in hand I left Vale to return to the mansion, it was approximately four now, which meant that by the time that I get back dinner would be getting ready. I waited for the bus to arrive, when it finally did an hour later I got on, it was almost five meaning that the ride would take until six. Then I remembered about the rush hour and how people would clutter to bus stations slowing down the ride. _Great_, I thought as I took a seat in the back.

I frequently checked the time on my phone as it grew closer to 6: 30, I should've been back at the mansion by 6 but due to the traffic and people coming onto the bus it grew slowly more packed. I began to tap my foot onto the floor, they were probably waiting for me to return from my trip or where ever I went. The bus slowly emptied out until it was only me left, I continued to become restless as I began to tap my fingers on my legs.

When I did arrive it was about 6: 25, I needed to hurry back so I began to run with the bags in my hands. The clouds then began to rain; it was first light then began to grow into a heavy rain storm. _Damn it_, I cursed to myself as I began to run back.

When I arrived at the mansion one of the servants opened it up for me, I panted as I made my way over to the dining area. When I arrived Weiss was sitting next to her father on the end of the table, she looked at me and saw how soaked I was. I was also holding several bags as I took a seat next to Hector but opposite of Weiss.

"Hello Joseph," Weiss greeted. "You look … well."

As I sat down and settled down servants set up my spot with plates cups and various forks and other utensils, all of which I had no idea what to use for. "Hey Weiss," I greeted. One of the servants came to me with a towel, I took it and began to dry my head, thankfully my sweater took up most of the water from reaching onto the inside, but, now I was stuck in a wet sweater.

The table was huge, as was the room; it looked like it could accommodate 30 people. The walls were lined with art and were a pristine white colour; this was complemented with black lining along the tops and bottoms. The floor on the other hand was made of light blue tiles.

"So what are in the bags?" Hector asked.

"Oh, just some sweets, want some Weiss, Hector?" I asked, pulling them out of the bag.

Weiss' eyes widened, "Oh my god, those chocolates, I absolutely love them!"

I passed it over the table; Hector seemed slightly angered. Then I remembered the talk that I had with him earlier today. Weiss corrected herself and tucked the chocolates under her chair.

"Ahem, let us enjoy the meal," Hector said sternly.

Weiss nodded in return and I leaned back with sigh, there was a ton of selections on the table, various meats ranging from pork, chicken and even goat. There was even an entire lobster along with several helpings of potatoes, white rice, and other kinds of grain. There seemed to be a single bowl of Caesar salad in the center. There was also a healthy selection of fruits.

"Dear god, how do you people eat all this?" I asked as I helped myself to some Caesar salad.

"We usually don't, more than half of it is left," Weiss stated also helping herself to the salad.

"Then why do you guys make so much? It seems like a waste," I stated.

"Yes it is," Weiss replied. "The servants eat some too, there's still too much of it."

"Then why don't you make less? It seems pretty obvious that you're making too much," I told her.

"It's always been like this," Weiss told me.

"All the more reason to change it, I mean, change is good right? I mean you've changed haven't you? Heck, if we all stayed still we'd all be rocks by now," I told her, covering my mouth as I ate. Weiss smiled a bit at my remark and I smiled back faintly. _Maybe she isn't so cold after all_.

As I was talking with Weiss Hector seemed to be on edge, "So, Weiss. How was school?" He said too sternly.

"It was okay father," Weiss replied.

"I heard you turned down the suitor, that's the tenth one this week," Hector began, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"Yes, I did," Weiss stated.

"Why are none of them good for you?" Hector said.

At this Weiss also became infuriated, "Weiss, please," I told her. Focussing on Hector I could see his face becoming infuriated with the entire situation. "Hector, we talked about this. Weiss is free to make her own decisions."

"I will not tolerate this!" Hector continued to shout.

"Hector, you're being unreasonable," I stated.

"No! I will not abide by you, you may be Weiss' teacher but I will not allow you to intervene. This is a family matter," Hector retorted.

I began to speak up before Weiss spoke up before me, "Joseph, please, leave us. We'll discuss this together."

I sighed, "I guess I'll take a shower, you can wait upstairs in the classroom for me," I told her.

* * *

After taking a long hot shower I got changed into a pair different of sweater and pants. There was a laundry basket in the washroom; I decided to hang them to let them dry before tossing them into the basket. I then proceeded to dry my hair out and finished by combing it.

I entered the classroom and found Weiss sitting attentively at the piano. She was warming up on it whilst playing a few scales. There was a mug of tea on my desk; I guessed that one of the servants probably put it there for me.

I picked it up and drank it; the tea along with the shower calmed my nerves. I felt well rested and ready to begin teaching again. I stood beside Weiss, "Hey Weiss, play me one of your piano pieces. Pick your best one; I want to see what you can do."

"Alright," She replied.

She proceeded to play one of Chopin's Marzurkas, it wasn't too hard but far from a beginner stage. It sounded nice and beautiful, with vibrant emotion. It was good, yet, there was something off, there seemed to be a lack of pure raw energy, there was energy for sure but there just wasn't enough of it.

"Where's the lack of energy?" I asked, Weiss merely paused before continuing. Nothing changed, "What's the matter Weiss? Is something wrong?" I decided to ask out of the blue.

"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong," She stated, she was slightly fumbling her words a bit.

"I can tell when something's wrong," I told her. "Is it about your Dad?" She moved over for me to sit on the piano bench with her, I did so, "So, what happened?"

"What did you expect? Nothing changed," She told me.

"You know, not everything is determined," I told her.

"Tell that to my father," Weiss said, snapping slightly.

"I have, but, I just wanted to talk to you about what you think," I replied.

"What do I think?" Weiss stated while staring at the piano. "Please don't think of me differently when I tell you this."

"I won't," I stated.

"My life has been decided from the day that I was born," Weiss began.

"Yes, I get that."

"It's like I'm a," Weiss continued before I interjected.

"A toy."

"Yes, like a doll. I couldn't see who I wanted and was cut out from the world," She told me. "I became cold and distant to everybody."

"Okay," I began to say. I then began to question why she decided to open this up to me. "I … This might not be the best question, but, why open up to me?"

"Is that really a question?" Weiss snapped back. She took a breath before speaking again, "I just, feel that I can trust you," She took another pause. "Is that weird?"

"No, it's not," I told her. "You know Weiss; you can always break away from your father's chains. Nothing is determined for anybody in this world; you can always take your future in your hands."

"It's inevitable," Weiss said.

"Nothing is inevitable Weiss."

"It's easy to hope," She said rather glumly.

"I think the hard part is hope, the last thing to ever go is hope, once that is gone there is nothing left."

"It's futile," She remained on her point still.

"Weiss," I sighed. "Now, just listen to me. What makes people special is that we can take our future into our hands, nobody has the right to decide your future. Not even your father, we can guide you but it is your decision. It's never somebody else's."

"I know that," She replied. "And I want that, it's just, difficult."

"I'm here for you, I may be your teacher and you're my student. But you can always talk to me," I told her. Silent blew over before I decided to continue the lesson.

"Weiss, let's continue the lesson."

I decided to improve her piano technique and skills this time. I did divulge in some theory but that was very minimal, I wanted to focus on the piano so that she could hear the different tones and such. I finished off the lesson with ear training.

I ended the class early, much to Weiss' discretion, she wanted the class to continue but I myself wanted to get going. She sighed before leaving the room, "Thanks, Joseph, for, listening. I'll think about what you told me."

"No problem, good night Weiss," I said.

"Thank you," She replied, bowing slightly.

I closed the door; I waited for a few moments for her to be gone. I heard her head down the hallway and into her room, closing the door behind her. I stepped out and went downstairs and out the front door. It was time to get the group together and jam. _I guess I still have this to look forward to_.


	5. Chapter 5: Friends

**Author's Note:**

**Hello dear readers and welcome to another chapter.**

**Not much to say, but ... the full band is here!**

**Now, expect a lot of delays between chapters due to school and other stories happening at the same time.**

**Anyways, enjoy and please review, as always. **

**I truly do read all of the reviews, I haven't been replying to them, cause I'm an idiot and forget sometimes. man, math can take a lot out of you.  
**

******Oh! I forgot to thank the people who review, thank you!**

******Kudos goes to:**

**DV330**

**RomanceDagger**

**Guest Review going by treja**

**Now! Enough delays, on with the show!**

**- Lor**

* * *

Chapter 5: Friends

After Weiss left to go to her room I hastily put on a black jacket. Picking up one of my trumpets, and a brief case filled with music, I headed out of the door. I looked around; the place seemed to be empty even though I knew that the servants were probably around somewhere. The lights that were on the ceiling lit up the surroundings casting an orange glow over the front foyer, I made my way out with my trumpet in hand. I headed out the front door, thankfully nobody noticed me leave. I smiled as I headed out the front door, making sure to close it behind me. Nobody found out …

Or so I thought.

* * *

The White haired heiress was sitting in her room at a desk; her room was orderly and neat. She'd heard one of the rooms open and close. Usually this didn't pique her interest but this from upstairs, and nobody would be upstairs besides Joseph or her father. She already knew that her father was gone to deal with work; the dinner today was one of the few occasions that her father was home. She was mostly left in the house alone as her father had business at the Schnee Company.

_So who's that_?

She decided to take a step out and look around; she was still dressed in her white dress from the dinner. As she looked down the hall she saw Joseph pass by, he didn't see her, he was holding two large cases, and both of them were black. One of them was a regular brief case while the other was large and rectangular. He seemed to be going off to somewhere in a hurry.

_Where's he going_? Weiss wondered, raising an eyebrow.

She decided to follow him; after he passed around the corner she began to pursue him. He'd left out the door in a hurry, and so did Weiss. When she made it out to the front door it was too late, he was already gone. The dark night time surroundings cloaked him.

"Tch," Weiss scowled to herself.

_Where would he go_? Weiss wondered, she pondered this question throughout the night and into her sleep. She decided that she would ask him tomorrow as she returned back to her desk, attempting to attain focus on her studies.

* * *

I took the bus into Vale; the trip took about an hour. Arriving at Neo's apartment I buzzed her number. Since it was night time I could see the glow from the lights shine on the exterior of the building. The buzzer was under the rain covering. I could see inside that there was an attendant desk to the right and an elevator to the left, there was also a long carpeted hallway down the center.

"H-Hello?" I heard the buzzer respond with Neo's voice.

"Hey, Neo, it's me, ready to go?" I greeted.

"O-Oh, Joey, I-I'm not ready yet, you can come in though. I-I'll leave the door unlocked so that y-you can come in," She replied.

"Alright, sure," I answered.

I heard the door buzz, unlocking it so that I could come in. The door closed behind me, the front foyer was plain, with a few small plastic trees for decoration in the corners. I headed for the elevator and pushed for floor 7. The place was empty as almost everyone was in their rooms.

The entire floor was carpeted so my feet made no sound at all. There were three hallways, two on the left and the right and one straight in front. I headed down the hallway in the front and stopped somewhere along the middle.

The door was a simple green wooden door; there was a peep hole above the number tag which read 714. The handle was a cylinder like shape with an embroidered attachment. I opened the door and found that it was unlocked, like Neo said.

Her place was quite simple, yet it still had a homey feel to it. There was a hallway leading down to her bedroom and washroom to the right. I could hear the shower running, _oh, I guess that she wanted to take a shower before leaving_. There was also a kitchen next to the hallway separated by a wall. There was a brown leather couch along the left hall; it was facing a white coffee table, though why white I have no idea, and a brown wooden TV cabinet.

I decided to sit down and wait for Neo to walk out of the shower and get changed. I heard her get out of the shower after about five minutes, "I-I'll be there in a m-minute!" Neo hollered before going into her room and closing it behind her.

She came back out in a beautiful white dress shirt. There was a pink flower embroidered on the left side of the shirt. It was a simple elegant shirt but it was beautiful nonetheless. She was also wearing a pair of brown pants along with a black belt.

I seemed to be looking at her for quite a while, I probably had a face of something between awe and amazement.

"Well, I-I'm ready," Neo told me.

"Sorry, it's just, wow, you look very nice in those," I complimented.

Neo blushed in return, "T-Thanks," She stuttered.

"Well, let's go," I said.

"O-Okay," She replied.

I picked up my cases and headed out of the door, "Do you have any bus tickets?" I asked.

She paused before stammering out her answer, "No, sorry!"

"That's fine, come on," I replied.

"I'll pay you back," She told me.

"No, you don't have to," I replied.

We headed out to the bus stop, the bus was mostly empty. We sat near the front of the bus. The ride was quite quiet; Neo was wearing a white jacket and was leaning rather close to me. I didn't pay any attention; after all, she's always been like this. I believed that it was because she was so shy around people and this just generally applied to her behaviour.

I looked beside her and smiled, she smiled back reassuringly. We arrived at our stop and got out; we were all supposed to meet at Yang's house since the two sisters had the largest basement for practical space.

The street was empty as the orange street lights shined spots along the sidewalk. As we walked down I heard a stumbling sound, Neo instinctively grabbed my arm. "Gah!" She exclaimed.

"Neo, it's okay, it's just a cat," I assured her. We both heard a meow come from where the sound came from. "See?" She nodded to me in return, still shaking her hands slightly. "Neo, you can let go now."

"Oh, sorry," She stammered, embarrassed and letting go of my arm.

"It's just a few minutes of a walk from here," I told her.

We arrived at the place, the front door was open for us to walk in, walking in I closed and locked the door. The entry way was a thin narrow hallway with the staircase leading to the basement at the side. The narrow hallway led to the living room. Taking off my socks I headed for the living room and found the couch along the back wall. Blake was already here as I could see her jacket on the couch.

Neo followed me and took off her white jacket. We then both headed downstairs into the basement. The basement acted as a recreational area. When we got down the stairs there was a hallway leading down to the main basement area. The first room to the left was for the laundry room, there was another down the hall which was closer to the main area, that room was the bathroom.

I could hear tons of moving around, which meant that they were setting up. I walked forward and into the main area. The room was large and was about the size of a two car garage. The floor was carpeted with a greyish colour. There was a tiled area to the right which held a mini fridge and the band supplies.

There was a large wooden carpeted board in the center, Ruby was off fiddling with one of the amps, Yang was carrying another large amp with a keyboard under her arms. She turned around when she noticed me and Neo.

Yang was wearing a brown jacket with a pair of black shorts; she was also wearing yellow socks since we would be practicing on a wooden board. Yang also had a pair of large half circle sunglasses on her forehead. Her hair was long, flowing and wavy.

"Oh helloo!" Yang greeted enthusiastically. "Oh, lookie here, you've brought a girl!"

"H-Hello," Neo answered shyly.

"Well, nice to meet you, my name's Yang," Yang took a step forward and held her left hand out to shake it.

"Hi, m-my name's Neo," Neo replied, shaking Yang's hand.

Blake who was coming back in from upstairs noticed the conversation; she had a soft drink in her hand. "Blake," She said from behind us.

Neo jumped and turned around, I put my hand on her shoulder and she calmed down. "That's Blake."

"Hello," Blake calmly greeted.

She was wearing a black zip up sweater with white pockets. This matched her black hair and her amber eyes. She was wearing black jeans along with it; she was wearing a pair of black slippers with a black kitty sewn onto it. She also decided to wear a black bow on her head, as usual.

"H-Hello," Neo replied.

We turned around and were instantly met with Ruby; she was wearing a red long sleeved shirt along with a pair of black pants. Her hair was short, neatly combed and was a dark shade of crimson, her silver eyes were wide opened as she looked at Neo, "Oh my god, is that pink and brown hair?" Ruby asked.

At this Neo became scared, "Y-Y-Yes," She replied quietly.

"EEE! That's so cute!" Ruby exclaimed all too enthusiastically, while bouncing up and down.

"Oh, now that you mention it she does," Yang commented.

"Indeed," Blake added.

"R-Really?" Neo asked.

"Totally!" Ruby answered. "And, oh my god, is one of your eyes pink?! That's so cool!"

"Y-You don't think that it's weird?" Neo asked still concerned.

"No, of course not, I mean, I have silver eyes, and crimson hair," Ruby stated.

"O-Oh, that's nice," Neo said.

"Eee! You're so cute!" Ruby exclaimed, gripping Neo in a tight hug. At this Neo blushed, I assumed that this was out of embarrassment.

Yang pulled her sister off by the neck of her shirt, "Urk!" Ruby coughed out.

"W-What's her p-problem?" Neo asked.

"Yeah, about Ruby, she's er, how should I put it," I began to say.

Yang placed Ruby on a chair before turning back to us, "Gay," She simply stated.

"W-What?!" Neo questioned.

"Yeah, not the best word to put it at," I commented. "I would've said homosexual."

"R-Really?" Neo replied, her cheeks became a deep shade of red. "T-Then," She began to say.

"Yeah, that was probably my sis squeezing you all too lovingly," Yang stated, her voice trailing off.

"A-Are y-you?" Neo asked, agitatedly.

"Gay? Nope, me and Blake are straight, or at least I know I am for sure," Yang stated. "Only my sis here is gay as far as I know."

"Yang!" Ruby whined.

"What? I'm just telling them the truth," Yang replied. Ruby pulled Yang away and pushed her from us, "Oh come on," Yang complained.

After Yang was pushed off Ruby returned to us, "S-So is it true?" Neo asked.

"Yes, I am, and please don't use the term homosexual," Ruby said. "It makes me feel weird, gay is fine. And, well, I'm sorry, for before."

"O-Okay, i-it's fine, i-it's good to k-know," Neo replied, still a bit shaken up.

I took a deep breath, "Great, now that that's taken care of who's ready to get to practicing?"

"Great!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Hey Ruby, I, I brought Neo here to play the piano for us," I told Ruby.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes, you can play another instrument right?" I asked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Ruby asked, pulling out a pair of red crimson sticks. "I've got the drum parts down!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"So drums then," I said.

"Yup!" She said enthusiastically.

"Welp, the music's right here," I said handing her the briefcase.

"Oh, here's the piano parts Neo," Ruby said, handing her several sheets of music from the piano stand.

"T-Thanks," Neo said.

"Welp, everything's set up, let's jam!" Yang exclaimed.

"Great," I said taking out my trumpet.

Yang took out a large saxophone and took her place in front with a tenor saxophone in hand. Blake was sitting on top of an amp with a black bass to the left. Ruby was standing near the back of the stage, me and Neo hoped on. Neo went over to the piano; she was standing close to Ruby's right side. I had in my hand a clean and lustrous golden trumpet; I played with the valves for a second to make sure that they were smooth. They were nice and smooth from the last time that I oiled them.

I could hear Blake tuning up her electric bass, her fourth string was a tad bit sharp, "Your fourth is a tad sharp Blake."

"Thanks," She nodded and went to change it just a bit.

I went to Yang's right, "Ready?" I asked.

"Yup," Yang answered, nodding.

"Alright, let's start with Cantaloupe Island; you've got the solo up right Yang?" I asked.

"Yup, I've got it down," Yang answered.

I turned around to Neo, "I know that this is your first time reading it, but try your best okay?" I told her. "You know what straight rhythm and swing is right?"

"Yes," Neo answered.

"Great, just do your best," I told her. I then focussed my attention to the group. "Ruby, would you do the honours of counting us in?"

"Oh, I'm honoured," Ruby jested; she raised her drum sticks and tapped them together six times, the first two setting up the halves of the bar while the last four set up the quarters, thus setting the metronome up.

The bass, piano and drums entered first creating the overall laid back rhythmic rift; this was then followed by my entrance on the trumpet to set the main theme. The theme was moved to the tenor sax, while I was given the accompaniment. It then hit the solos in the piece; I played my own improvised solo for a while before switching off to Yang. Yang played a beautiful laid back solo; she decided to pair up parts of a sample solo with her own original innovations.

I applauded for her lightly and she looked at me with what looked like a mixture of gratitude and a big smirk as she had the instrument in her hands still. We finished by pulling the two main parts into parallel unisons and ended with the tenor saxophone.

After we finished Ruby was applauding, "That was so cool!"

"Uh, Ruby, you always say that," Yang pointed out.

"Well, it does sound more complete with the drums," I commented.

"Neo, you were so cool, going all like da da da da and da da," Ruby continued, singing the piano rift.

"T-Thanks," Neo replied, embarrassed.

"There are a few spots that I'd like to touch up on, specifically syncing up the bass, drums and piano," I said.

"Alright," Blake replied.

"Sure thing Joey!" Ruby answered enthusiastically.

"O-Okay," Neo responded.

"Alright, let's get to specifics," I said.

We played up until around 11: 30, at that time Ruby was starting to feel tired. We'd managed to fix up the off bass part and moved on to other songs. We were packed up for the night, I collected my brief case and my trumpet. I then began to help the others disassemble the equipment. "We're gonna rock it a month from now at that café," Ruby stated.

"You mean, jazz it," Yang commented, making some kind of joke.

Ruby chuckled, "Yeah, jazz it."

Neo immediately snapped up, "A month?!"

"Yeah, I got us a deal to play at this jazz café, it's pretty popular. Why? Is something the matter Neo?" I asked.

"N=No, it's just, sudden," Her voice trailed off. "I, I don't think I'm ready!" She interjected.

"Really? I mean, you played perfectly, with the vibes, emotion and everything," I told her. "You were great!"

"Yeah, you were!" Ruby said appearing beside Neo.

"Y-You really think so?" Neo asked.

"Yup! You're the best!" Ruby said, tackling Neo into a hug.

Neo didn't fall but she was shaken a bit, I could also see her cheeks redden from embarrassment.

Blake came around with her bass tucked on her back and in its clothed casing, "You did great," She stated before leaving to get her jacket.

"You were awesome!" Yang complimented while she was setting the amps and keyboard aside.

At this I could see a small smile form on Neo's face, this was a new one. "T-Thanks, you don't know h-how much that means to m-me."

Ruby let go of Neo and faced her, "Well, that's what you do right? You cheer on your friends."

"F-Friends?" Neo asked.

"Yeah, of course we're friends," Ruby stated. "Why?"

"I-It's just, I've never had any friends besides Joseph," Neo replied with a smile.

"Well, you've got us now!" Ruby replied.

"That must've been lonely," Blake stated.

"W-Well, not really, J-Joseph and me t-talk all the time," Neo said.

"Heh, looks like somebody already has a girlfriend, and you told us you didn't have one," Yang teased.

Neo's cheeks reddened, "Oh no, that's not what's happening," she denied shaking her head while waving her right hand.

"No, we're not," I denied calmly.

Yang examined my facial expression, "I see …"

Blake came back with her jacket and clothing on, "Well, I'll see you guys later."

"See ya Blakey," Yang said, moving for a moment to look at Blake before refocusing back on me.

"So?" I questioned.

"Nothing, well, see you guys later then," Yang said brushing it off.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yup, I've seen all I need," Yang replied.

"Well, I'll be taking my leave now," I said.

Neo followed me as did Ruby; Neo put on her jacket and put her hood on it up. Ruby seemed to be heavily admiring Neo, she was probably thinking along the lines of; _she's so cute_! Neo looked back at Ruby and smiled faintly, at this Ruby blushed in return. Neo then grabbed my hand and proceeded to lead me to the front.

Blake was at the front, she was wearing her dark light jacket, "Heading home?" I asked.

"Yes, I am," Blake stated.

"Mind if we accompany you?" I asked.

"Nope," She replied.

We proceeded to walk together until it came to the intersection leading to the two parts of the neighbourhood, one leading to the main street and the other leading deeper into the suburbs. We parted ways, Blake heading deeper into the suburbs.

"Bye B-Blake," Neo said.

Blake waved with two fingers as her back was turned; we proceeded to head down to the main street. When the bus arrived we got on, it was empty say for a few passengers, thank goodness there was 24 hour bus service. We sat at the front; Neo began to yawn, "Tired?" I asked.

"A bit," Neo replied, leaning a bit closer.

I let her lean closer, "So, was it fun?"

"Yeah," She replied with a happier tone, albeit tired.

She leaned her head on my shoulder, I let her and she began to sleep, it was a rather long bus ride, the orange lights passing through the windows. When we arrived at her stop I shook her awake, she stretched her arms before getting up. "Thanks for i-inviting me," Neo told me.

"No problem," I told her with a smile, now awaited the trip back to the mansion. The trip was rather quiet as I kept to myself mostly. When I did get off and walked back to the mansion I was smiling, remembering the fun practice that we had. Complete with Ruby squealing at Neo and Yang's teasing. Even Blake was quite memorable, despite her being quiet.

When I arrived the mansion had its lights from the front foyer on still, this wasn't much of a surprise to me, but it did glare in my face. I opened up the door, I expected no one to be around and for everybody to be sleeping.

I was wrong, Weiss was standing right in front, "Where were you?!"

* * *

**Post Story Note:**

**So does Neo like Joseph? I'll let you decide. **

**Make of it what you want, but there will be no ships in this fic as far as I'm concerned.**


	6. Chapter 6: Cold Blues

**Author's Note:**

**Hello and Welcome again to another chapter.**

**So, last time we ended with the confrontation with Weiss and Joseph, and it leads to new developments.**

**If you can get the idea of the chapter from the title props goes to you.**

**Anyways, I hope that you'll enjoy this and as usual please leave a review.**

**- Lor**

* * *

Chapter 6: Cold Blues

There she was right in front of me, Weiss. She was dressed in a white night gown and her hair was untied and flowed behind her. Her eyes focused on me and seemed to be assessing me. She did seem malicious as she had her arms crossed. "Well?" She questioned, holding out her hand and expecting me to answer.

"Er …" I stuttered. I was still holding onto my trumpet and the brief case.

"Are you going to tell me? Or are you just going to stand there?" She pressed on.

"I, I went out," I stated.

"To where?" She pressed onwards; her voice seemed to get tenser and stronger.

"To," I began before sneezing loudly. "Vale."

"And what were you doing in Vale?" She further questioned.

I bit my lip, it was getting harder to lie, she was very stern and the aura that she seemed to be projecting was heavy. I felt my throat dry up before I decided to speak again, "Why do you care?" I questioned; I tried to shift the focus away from me and onto her.

"Well … because you're my teacher!" She explained.

"Huh, really," I stated, _phew_, I thought in my head. I was now on the superior ground rather than her.

"Well," She began; I raised my eyebrow in anticipation, urging her to try and answer. "Fine! See if I care!" She huffed before treading up to her room.

I breathed a breath of relief, _at least she wasn't going to be on my case tonight,_ I thought. I began to walk towards the stairs before I felt a sneeze, it was loud and huge. "Man, must be the cold, hopefully I'm not sick," I said to myself.

I began to walk up the stairs when I sneezed yet again, I ran for my room as mucus began to stream from my nose. I went over to my table and pulled out a box of tissues, and began to wipe my nose. "It better not be a damn cold," I muttered to myself.

I got changed and went to take a nap; I hoped to god that I didn't catch a cold. Oh how I hated the common cold, it was the one thing that plagued me, it was terrible! I hated getting my nose stuffed so that I couldn't breathe at all. It also came with that fever phase where I couldn't register anything properly.

_I hope I don't get friggin sick_, I hoped as I turned over in my bed.

But boy was I wrong.

I woke up to find my throat all scratchy, when I swallowed it felt like my throat was made out of sandpaper. My nose was also stuffy; when I sat up on my bed it began to become runny. _Great! Just, great_! I shouted in my head. It also came with a fever and I felt that everything was a blur around me. _Even! Better_! I turned over to check the time before falling asleep and flat on my underside.

Weiss was sitting in the classroom yet again, she waited for Joseph to come out of his room and begin teaching her. _Where is he_? Weiss wondered as she began to stare across the room. She waited tentatively for another three minutes, her hands on her lap as she waited. Eventually she began to grow impatient as it was now 6: 00, _he better have a good reason for this_!

Weiss got up and went over to the door leading to Joseph's room; she decided to give three knocks on the door. She did so, and waited, and waited, expecting some kind of response like, _alright, alright, I'm coming_, or, _why are you so loud_?

But there was nothing, nothing but silence.

She heard loud coughing from inside and decided to open the door;_ you'd better not be sick idiot_!

I heard the door creak open slowly, for a moment I forgot that I had a class. That was until I saw Weiss' white dress and hair, then I remembered that I was supposed to teach her. She saw me and made her way over.

"You idiot!" She scolded before placing her hand on my head.

I covered my ears, "Wais, I, I dod, achoo!" I sneezed yet again.

"You've got a fever!" She scolded.

"I cun gu, we'v god a lasson," I told her before I sneezed yet again.

"You're sick, stay in bed and rest," She told me sternly.

"Bu-d, bu-d," I stammered.

"No buts!" She scolded before turning away. She picked up one of the room service phones and called for the kitchen. "Hello? Yes, it is me Weiss Schnee. I need vegetable soup up here in Joseph's room now." She instructed.

She put away the phone and turned back towards me, she felt my head again, "Whie are yub so concerned?" I asked.

"Shush you, I'll be right back," She instructed before leaving the room.

I merely laid there on the bed, _aw jeez, I feel like sh-, my back's sore and my head felt like flaming hot water was poured over it constantly_! I heard the door open yet again; Weiss came in holding a platter with soup and medicine in it. She pulled a chair from the next room and sat next to me; she placed the platter onto the side of the bed and scooped up a spoon of soup. _Why though_?

"You, dobt, hob to," I said, moving my arms to get to the soup.

"Just open your mouth," She ordered.

I did so and she began to feed me the soup, she then gave me my medicine after I finished the soup. "Get lots of rest," She told me before leaving.

As she was taking care of me all I could wonder was, _why_? _Why'd she decide to take care of me? She didn't seem all too concerned about me before. In fact, just a few days ago we were on hateful terms. What changed? I mean, I couldn't have possibly made that much of an impression on her a few days ago, right_? I thought, before falling into sleep once more, my body was too tired to think at all today, as all of my energy was spent on the cold.

I came about hours later, my mouth felt dry and I smacked my lips together. I got up and went to the mirror in my bathroom, I still looked dead. My face was as pale as Weiss' hair and my nose was as red as a cherry. I tried to breathe from my nose but it still felt extremely clogged, I rubbed my eyes and they were also very irritated. I looked above the door and found a clock, it was already five.

_Weiss is gonna kill me_! I thought at first. I headed out of the room and got changed. I approached the door and sneezed, it sounded like a roaring hurricane. "Bleh," I spat out into my hands. I ran over to the washroom and washed my hands of the mucus.

I stepped out before heading into my classroom, I opened the door and found Weiss staring straight into my face. "What are you doing!" She scolded. "You should be in bed!"

"Bud, the lessun," I began.

"Go, to bed!" She ordered, turning me around and pushing me back into my bed.

"Bud I'm fine-b," I protested.

"No buts!" She yelled back.

She laid me down on my bed through my squirms and tucked me in. She tied the blanket to the underside of the mattress. I began to move my arms, "Lat me gu!" I ordered.

"I'm not leaving until you fall asleep," Weiss replied.

I sighed before posing the same question from this morning, "Whu'd youb care?"

"Is it wrong to care?" She questioned very quickly.

"Nu," I began.

"Then shush!" She barked.

I laid there for what must've felt like an hour, I tried to get back into sleep but it was very difficult, it didn't help with the fact that I had a fever and that my body felt like it was dying with heat. Weiss came over to me with a moist towel; she folded it and placed it on my head. She also came back with a glass of water as well as a straw. She held the straw up to my mouth, as she urged me to drink it. I looked up at her face and she had a stern look. I gave in and drank the water from the straw.

When I finished I laid my head back as Weiss took away the cup of water and sat back down. She went away for a few moments into the classroom only to come back with a pile of books. She sat back down next to me and got to work. She was very determined to make sure that I'd get to sleep.

I felt the wet towel seep into my skin as it seemed to cool me down a bit. This eased the heat and allowed me to fall asleep.

Weiss looked at the sleeping form of Joseph; after she'd noticed he'd fallen asleep she'd decided to leave the room. While doing so she was shaking her head, _idiot_.

I came back again four hours later, right at the time that I would normally be seeing Neo right now, _aw darn_. I thought, I needed to inform the four of them that I couldn't come today. I wiggled my hand out and reached for my phone on my desk.

I struggled as the blankets tied me down, but, after several minutes of wriggling out I managed to grab my phone. Picking it up I dialled Neo's number first, I sneezed before I held up the phone to my head.

"Hello?" I heard Neo's voice.

"Hey-b, it's me," I began before sneezing again. "I-b can't make it-b tonight."

"Joseph? A-Are you okay?" Neo asked. Before I could respond I hacked out a very loud cough, "Joseph!"

"I'm fine, listen. Could you call the others and tell them that I can't make it today? Also make sure that you guys get together, our debut is in a month. Get them to practice So What, Sing Sing Sing, and our other rep as well," I told her.

"Okay!" She answered almost immediately.

"T-Thanks Neo, I really appreciate it," I thanked her before hanging up the phone.

Replacing it back on my desk I laid back, I hoped that our performance would be good but at the same time I wondered why Weiss took care of me so much. _Could it be that she felt pity? No, that couldn't be, then what did she feel? She masked her emotions quite well, I'll give her that, but what is truly behind the cold face that she hides_? I wondered as I laid there.

I tossed and turned trying to get back to sleep, I heard the door creak and I turned around to see what it was I saw a set of blue eyes peer through the light before it closed the door, all too hastily. I figured that it was Weiss checking up on me.

She didn't open the door for several minutes but when she did she came back in with another platter of soup. This time it was chicken noodle soup. I began to slowly undo the grip of the blanket from my waist, wriggling myself up so that I could sit up.

Weiss once again fed me the soup, I tried to convince her that I could feed myself, but she insisted on it. After she finished she checked on my temperature once more, she set me down and placed another moist towel on my head. _Why go to such length_? I was thinking.

"Hey-b Weiss?" I asked.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Why doob yo-b care about me-b so mub?" I asked.

"Because I do," She simply replied.

I looked at her for a few moments, she looked down at the floor and merely sighed, "I, you're my friend right? Is it wrong to help you?" She asked.

"Nobe, butb," I sighed, "Thanbs Weiss."

"You're welcome," She replied before leaving, before she closed the door she wished me good night.

"Goodb night," I replied with a small smile.

I then turned around and fell into a deep sleep. This sleep was very nice and blissful, I dreamed of blues songs from the café that we'd be performing at. It was going to be a great opportunity for the girls as they'll get to meet real Jazz musicians and greet them. I can't wait to hear the absolutely cool and relaxing blues and soft tunes that the musicians would be playing. I also couldn't wait to see Ruby's face when she hears the absolute grace of the drummer; she always seemed to be entranced whenever she heard Jazz drummers.

Yang would probably be off goofing off with Blake. Much to Blake's vocal displeasure, but she was usually the liar in those situations smiling as Yang petted her head. Lastly I wondered what Neo would be like, most of this was new to her and well, she was very shy, no doubt about that. If anything Ruby might be hitting on her, I chuckled at the thought of it, Ruby would probably be gripping Neo quite tightly after the performance, cheering her on and complimenting about how great she was. All while Neo would be blushing and saying that she wasn't that great.

I wouldn't lie; I was smiling as I was dreaming about the night a month from now. And, well, I also drooled in my sleep, but thankfully nobody would find out. I was still a young adult after all.

I woke up the next day feeling very refreshed, it seemed that much of the cold had blown over, mostly the sore throat and the constant running nose at least. All that was left was a stuffy nose and coughs. So, at least I felt that I could get up without keeling over.

I looked around the room and saw the morning lights creep in. I sat up on the bed and stretched my arms, I checked the clock and it was already six in the morning, _that's odd, Weiss should already be awake by now_. I thought to myself, I put on a change of clothes and checked the classroom, _maybe she's already inside_, I hoped.

I opened the door and expected the heiress to be sitting in her seat, ready to scold me at a moment's notice. I expected her cold annoyed voice to ring through the room as she would scold me on how late I was. Then the ever normal reaction from me would be, alright, alright. I would then look at her before sighing and returning to my desk and our lesson would begin.

Instead what I found was a gruesome sight.

Well, gruesome might be a bit harsh, but I saw Weiss bundled on the student chair. She had a white blanket over her head and she seemed to be shivering. I began to walk closer, I noticed the white blanket seemed to drape over her arm as she seemed to try and write.

I approached closer from behind her and tapped her shoulder, she turned around suddenly, causing the blanket to drop onto the floor, "Ah! Achoo!" She sneezed.

I looked at her face and I could tell that she caught my cold too, her nose was red like a cherry and seemed to be stuffy as she tried to breathe in from it. Her blue eyes were now surrounded by red from irritation, and her usual pale complexion looked even paler, dead even.

"Weiss, are you okay?" I asked, I noticed that my voice was a lot clearer now.

"I'm-b fine," She began before another sneeze occurred.

"You're not fine," I told her. "You should be resting."

"Like-b how you-b should'b been resting?" Weiss questioned.

I could see in her eyes that she wasn't letting up, I honestly didn't want to pressure her into doing anything today at all, she seemed tired enough as is. But she wasn't giving up, she was determined to have the lesson today even at the cost of her wellbeing. "Point taken," I replied with a surrendering smile.

"So-b, let-b begin," She stated.

"Did you take medicine?" I asked.

"O-b course I-b did," Weiss snapped back in return before sneezing yet again.

I sighed; I guess I'll take it easy on her for today. I sat at my desk and looked over my notes on what we accomplished yesterday. We did theory and the usual, which would be content for any musician. As I looked at the notes I forgot to include one more thing, the idea of introducing other genres, though I'm sure that Weiss herself had already known about all the other kinds of genres and had her own list that she approved.

But, this would be a nice Segway into the different types of chords that I'll be introducing in harmony. Especially if I used Jazz music as they would include intricate chords like sevenths, ninths, thirteenths and the occasional fifteenth.

I decided to look in the room to see if a music player was set up, I then looked to the side of the desk and found a small cd player. I brought it up to the desk as I searched my drawer for my collection of CDs; I found my Jazz collection and decided to open it.

"Now, we're gonna be listening to some music," I began, I saw Weiss begin to huff out a retort. "Before you go all ballistic on me, let me explain. I'm going to be introducing new chords today, and this music is going to show you the use of it."

Weiss settled down thankfully, as I was setting up I could hear her sneeze and blow her nose. I decided to put in some blues tunes. Finding the disc with a collection of Duke Ellington's blues I placed it in, and circulated to Jeep Blues.

It was a brass centric piece with rhythm section providing much of the support. Immediately when I began to play it I could see a lack of confusion on Weiss' face. Most likely she either A would find the music terrible and out right say it. Or B, she would say out right that it was terrible but secretly like it.

She did the later, "What-b is thi-b racket?" Weiss questioned, putting an irritated face on.

"It's blues music, and if you can hear the piano there should be seventh chords throughout this entire piece," I told her.

"It-b sounb so-b … uncibilized," Weiss replied.

"Well, it is a very good example, I'm sure you'll like it," I told her.

"I doub it-b," Weiss denied.

I decided to let the track play despite her protests, and sat back down. It wasn't long before I heard her tapping on her desk, despite what she said she was paying attention to it. I pressed the stop button and decided to begin the lesson.

"Alright, now that you've got an idea of some seventh chords I'm going to introduce new chords to you," I told her. I was holding a piece of chalk at the chalkboard before I turned around to face Weiss, "You know, you should listen to more blues. It's very relaxing," I told her.

She sighed in return, "I'll try."

"Good, it might make you feel better," I replied.

I proceeded on with the lesson; I did a very light course and only made Weiss exercise her mind. Since using her voice would only butcher it at this point. When we finished, Weiss began to collect her things to leave.

"Hey Weiss?" I called for her; I wanted to thank her for taking care of me the last day even if she did get sick in the process. "Thanks Weiss."

"You're-b Welcome-b," She answered with a bow.

"Also, sorry for getting you sick," I said.

"Just-b dob't do-b it again-b," Weiss said.

"Will do, and take care Weiss," I finished.

"See you-b tonight-b," She answered before leaving.

I guess I was really thankful for her, despite her cold and driven behaviour she was kind. Although she didn't want to show it, she did care about me in particular. She didn't have to do anything for me but she did and I was thankful for her. It might be my sickness influencing my mind but I think that she was actually a very kind person deep underneath her cold exterior. Though why it's hidden is unknown to me, it could have something to do with her father or something else entirely.

Either way, I was thankful for her kindness, I leaned back on my chair looking over the papers on my desk as well as my notes, _I guess you're not as cold as you think you are_.


	7. Important: Ending Polls Early

**Author's Note:**

**I know that the poll is not even scheduled to be over yet, but, I've decided to go ahead and speed things up. I've created a twitter account, this'll be the easiest method to communicate to you guys.**

**I also partly made it because I don't want to delve into the deep dark hole that is Tumblr.**

**Welp, follow me at Lorion97. The profile pic is the same as my current profile pic here.**

**Looking forward to communicating easier with you guys,**

**- Lor**


End file.
